water-table 
member so placed as to throw off water from 
the wall of a building. 
It should not be forgotten what a noble foundation 
there was for the cliapell, wct> did runne from the Col- 
ledpe alonj: the street as far as the Blew Boare Inn ; w^'i 
was alx)Ut 7 foot or more high, and ailorned witli a very 
rieh Gothique water-table. 
Aubrey, Lives (Thomas Wolsey). 
2. A small embankment made across a road, 
especially on a hill, to carry off the water. 
Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] — 3. Same as tcater- 
hridge. 
water-tank (wa'ter-taugk), n. A tank, cistern, 
or otlier receiver for holding water. 
The sensitizing bath, plate-holders, water-ta-)\lt8, etc., all 
adjusted. Silver Sunbeam, p. 128. 
water-tap (wa'ter-tap), H. A tap or cock by 
which water may be drawn from any supply. 
water-target (wa'ter-tar"get), 11. The water- 
shield, Brancuia jieltata. 
water-tath ( wa'ter-tath), n. A species of coarse 
grass growing in wet grounds, and supposed to 
be injurious to sheep. [Prov. Eng.] 
water-telescope (wa'ter-tel"e-sk6p), n. See 
telencojic. 
water-thermometer (wa't6r-tlier-mom"e-ter), 
>i. An instrument, in which water is substi- 
tuted for mercury, for exhibiting the precise 
degree of temperature at which water attains 
its maximum density. Tliis is at39°.2 F. or4°C., and 
from that point downward to the freezing-point, 32° F. or 
0' C, it expands, and it also expands from the same point 
upward to the boiling-point, 212° F. or 10(1° C. See icater. 
water-thief (wa'ter-tlief), n. 1. A pirate. 
[Rare.] 
Water-tftieves and laud-thieves; I mean pirates. 
Shak., M. of v., i. 3. 24. 
2. A slender cylindrical tin can, 9 or 10 inches 
long and from ]| to 2 inches thick, furnished 
with a bail, used to draw water from a cask 
through the bung-hole; a bung-bucket: so 
called because it is sometimes used by sailors 
to steal water when on short allowance. 
water-thistle (wa'ter-this-l), n. The marsh- 
thistle, Curduus palustris, of the northern Old 
World. Britten and Holland. [Prov. Eng.] 
water-thrush (wa'ter-thrush), n. 1. A bird 
of the genus Seiuriis, as f>. mevius or S. mota- 
cilla, common in the United States, and be- 
longing to the American warblers, or Mniotil- 
tidiP. S. nieriu^ is more fully called New York water- 
tlirusti, and S. motacitla the large-billed or Louisiana wa- 
ter-tfirusti. The name may have originally contrasted with 
wood-thrush, but this bird belongs to a different family. 
The nearest relative of these water-thrushes is a woodland 
species of the sanie genus, S. aurieapillug, the golden- 
crowned thrush (figured under oven-bivd), from which the 
two species named above differ markedly in inhabiting 
watery tangles and brakes. Also called water-wagtail. 
.See cut under Seiurtts. 
2. Any bird of the family I'ittidse; an Old 
World ant-thrush. See cut under Pittidee. — 
3. The water-ouze], OinclKS aqiiaticus. [Local, 
Eng.] — 4. Sa,tne a,s water-wafjtail, 1. [Local, 
Eng.] 
water-thyme (wa'ter-tim), n. See thyme. 
water-tick (wa'tcr-tik), n. A water-spider of 
the genus Hydromctra. 
water-tiger (wa'ter-ti"ger), n. The larva of 
any water-beetle of the family Dijtiscidee. See 
cut under decapodiform. 
The larva; are called water tigerg, being long, cylindrical, 
with large llatteued heads, armed witli scissor-like jaws 
witli which tliey seize other insects, or snip off the tails 
of tadpoles, while they are even known to attack young 
fishes, sucking their ijlood. 
A. S. Packard, Guide to the Study of Insects, p. 435. 
water-tight (wa'ter-tit), a. [= G. wa.'iserdicht ; 
as irater -f iir/h t^ .] So tight as to resist the pas- 
sage of water; impenetrable by water Water- 
tight compartment. See compartment, and compare 
cut under dork. 
water-tightness (wa'ter-tifnes), n. The prop- 
er! v of being water-tight. The Enqlnecr, LXIX. 
148. 
water-torcht (wa'ter-toreh), n. The reed-mace 
or cattail, Ti/jihn latifolia : said to be so named 
from its fruiting .spike being soaked in oil and 
lighted as a torcli. Prior, Pop. Names of Brit. 
Plants. 
water-tOWer(wa'ter-tou''er),H. Same unHland- 
pipe, 7. 
When the flames are blazing through the upper win- 
dows of a tall building . . . the value of wliat is called a 
water-tower is apparent. Scrib'iier'tf Mag., IX. 56. 
water-treader (wa'ter-tred"er), H. One who 
or that which treads water; hence, by poetical 
license, a ship. 
M'hcn the uater-trfoder far away 
Had left the land, then plotted they tlie day 
Of my long servitude. Chapman, Ody.ssey, xiv. 477. 
6848 
water-tree (wa'ter-tre), 71. See Tetracera. — 
Red water-tree, the sassy-bark. See Erythrophloeum. 
water-trefoil (wa'ter-tre'foil), n. Same as 
hog-iean. 
water-trunk (wa'ter-trungk), n. A cistern of 
planks lined with lead to hold water. Sim- 
inonds. 
water-tube (wa'ter-tiib), n. 1. A pipe for rain- 
water. — 2. One of a set of tubes which open 
upon the exterior of various invertebrates, and 
into which water may enter. They are supposed to 
have an excretory or a depuratory office analogous to tliat 
of kidneys. See water-pore, 1, water-vascular, and com- 
pare wa^er-iunsr.— Water-tube boiler, a form of boiler in 
whicli the water circulates through pipes, and the flame 
wraps about them. 
water-tupelo (wa't6r-tii''pe-16),». A form (Kys- 
sa aquatica) of the black-gum or pepporidge, 
Nyssa sylvatica, having the base of the trunk 
greatly enlarged or swollen, found In ponds 
and swamps in the southern United States. 
water-turkey (wa'tfer-ter'ki), n. 1. The an- 
hinga or snake-bird, Ploius anhinga. See dar- 
ter, 3 (b) (1), and cut under anhinga. [South- 
ern U. S.] — 2. The wood-ibis, Tantalus locula- 
tor: more fully called Colorado water-turlcey. 
See wood-ihi.s, and cut under Tantalus. [South- 
western U. S.] 
water-twist (wa'ter-twist), 91. The trade-name 
for cotton yarn spun on a water-frame. See 
roater-frame. 
water-twyer (wa'ter-twi"6r), «. In metal., a 
furnace blast-pipe or twyer kept cool (to pre- 
vent the burning of the nozle) by means of a 
stream of water constantly passing through a 
pipe can-led around or beside it. 
water-vacuole (wa'ter-vak"u-61), n. One of 
the temporary vacuoles of many protozoans, 
consisting of a globule of water taken in with 
a particle of food. The circulation of these food-vacu- 
oles or temporary stomachs represents a water-vascular 
system of tlie most primitive kind. See water-vascular. 
water-varnish ( wa'ter-viir'nish), 71. A varnish 
made by using water as a solvent Lac water- 
vamlsh. See lac^. 
water- vascular (wa'ter-vas"ku-lar), a. In hiol., 
pertaining to or providing for circulation of 
water in the body of an animal. The water-vas- 
cular system is seen in its utmost simplicity in infusori- 
ans, and in various degrees of complexity in higher inver- 
Wiiter-vasciilar System of a Trematode ^.Aspidogaster conchicola^. 
a, terminal water-pore: *, lateral contractile vessels: (-.lateral ciliated 
trnnks, those of left side shaded : d, dilatation of left trunk. 
tebrates — in trematode worms, for example. Water-lungs 
and water-tubes belong to the water-vascular system. See 
also cutsunder iJaZaHOf/iossiw, Proctucha, Rhabdocoela, and 
Uotifera. 
water-vine (wa't*r-vm), ?i. 1. A plant of the 
genus Phytocrene. — 2. A climbing shrub, 7JoW- 
carpiis Calinea of the DiUeniacese., found in trop- 
ical America. [West Indies.] 
water-violet (wa'ter-vi"o-let), )(. (o) A plant 
of the genus Hottonia, primarily H. palustris: 
so called from the likeness of its flowers to 
those of the stock-gillyflower, once called vio- 
let. Britten and Holland. See featherfoil. (b) 
Sometimes, same as l(t7ice-leafed violet (which 
see, under violet). 
water-viper (wa't6r-vi''p6r), «. See riper. 
water-vole (wa't6r-v61), n. The common wa- 
ter-rat or vole of Europe, Arricolit amphibius. 
See cut under icater-rat. 
The sudden dive of a water-vole. 
Ji. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, vii. 
water-wagtail (wa'ter-wag"tal), (I. 1. A wag- 
tail most properly so called; any species of 
Motacilla in a strict sense, as distinguished 
from Budytes. In England the name commonly 
specifies the pied wagtail, Motacilla lugnbris. 
See cut under icagtail. — 2. Same as icatcr- 
thru.'ih, 1 — Gray water-wagtail, yellow water- 
wagtajlt. Same as gray wa')tad (which see, under icag- 
tail). 
waterway (wa'ti-r-wa), n. [< ME. water-wey, 
< AS. icsetenceg ; as water + jr«;/l.] 1. A chan- 
nel or passage of water; a water-route; spe- 
cifically, that part of a river, arm of the sea, or 
the like through which vessels enter or depart; 
the fairway. 
Tliotigh the Thames was already a waterioay by which 
London could connnunicatc with the heart of Englanti, no 
town save Oxford has as yet arisen along its course. 
J. Jt. Qreen, t'onq. of Eng., p. 419. 
Water-weevil (Lissorkoptrut aimpUx), 
times natural size. 
elRht 
waterwitch 
2. In ship-building, a name given to the thick 
planks at the outside of the deck, worked over 
the ends of the beams, and fitting against the 
inside of the top-timbers, to which, as well as 
to the ends of the beams, they are bolted, thus 
forming an important binding, llieir inner edge 
is hollowed out to form a channel for water to run off the 
deck. In iron vessels the waterway assumes many differ- 
ent forms. See cut under beam, 2 (g). 
The spencers we bent on veiy carefully, . . . and, mak- 
ing tackles fast to the clews, bowsed them down to the 
water-ways. R. B. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 258. 
The Waterway, as its name would suggest, is a portion 
of the hull so situated that, in addition to its otlier func- 
tions, it forms a channel for cairying water to the scup- 
pers on each side of the ship. Thearle, Naval Ai-ch., § 209. 
water- weakt ( wa ' t6r-wek ), a. Weak as water ; 
very feeble or weak. 
If merrie now, anone with woe I weepe, 
If lustie now, forthwith am water-weak. 
Davies, Muse's Sacrifice, p. 10. (Davieg.) 
water-weed (wa'ter-wed), «. 1. Any wild 
aquatic plant without special use or beauty. 
The willful water-weeds held me thrall. 
S. Lanier, The Century, XXVII. 819. 
2. Specifically, the choke-pondweed or water- 
thyme, Elodea Canadetisis {Anacharis Alsitia*- 
trum), of the Hydrocharideee. See pondweed and 
Babingto7i's-cursc. 
water-weevil (wa'ter-we'vl), n. A snout-bee- 
tle, Lisso- 
rhoptrus sim- 
plex, which 
occurs in 
great num- 
bers in the 
Georgia and 
South Caro- 
lina rice- 
fields, the 
adult feed- 
ing on the 
leaves of the 
rice, and the 
larvai feed- 
ing on the 
roots under 
water. 
This beetle 
has gained Its 
common name of water weevil from the fact that it is found 
only when the fields are overflowed. 
L. 0. Howard, V. S. Agricultural Eeport, 1881-2, p. 131. 
water-wheel (wa'ter-hwel), ». In hydraul. : 
(«) A wheel moved by water, and employed to 
turn machinery. There are four principal kinds of 
water-wheels— the overshot wheel, the undershot wtteel, 
the Ifreast-wheel, and the turbine, (ft) A wheel for 
raising water in large quantities, as the Persian 
wheel. See wheel'^. (p) The paddle-wheel of 
a steamer — Bottom-discharge water-wheel. See 
bottom. — Lift water-WheeL (a) An undershot wheel. 
(6) A water-wheel the gudgeons and bearings of which 
may be raised or lowered to adapt the wheel to various 
heights of water-supply. E. H. A'Titi/Af.— Radial-piston 
water-wheel, a form of breast-wheel having movable 
floats which extend i-adially outward to the breasting on 
the water side of the wheel to receive the pressure of the 
water during its descent, and are drawn inward as they 
rise on the opposite side of the wheel. — Water-Wheel 
gate, a water-gate for controlling the quantity of water 
admitted to a wheel, according to the power required. 
See cut under «cro;i.— Water-wheel governor, a mecha- 
nism employed to produce uniformity of motion in a wa- 
ter-wheel. 
water- white (wa't^r-hwit), o. Perfectly trans- 
parent, as water ; limpid and colorless. Spans' 
Encye. Maniif., I. 646. 
water-whorlgrass (wa'ter-hw^rKgras), n. 
Same as water-hairgrass. 
water-willow (wa't^r-wil'6), M. 1. A Euro- 
pean willow, sometimes named Salix aquatica, 
forming a variety of the common sallow, /S. 
Cap7'ea, or if distinct, S. cinerea. — 2. An Amer- 
ican acanthaceous plant, Dianthera Americana, 
an herb 3 feet high, of willow-like aspect, grow- 
ing in water, having purplish flowers in axillary 
peduncled spikes. 
water-wing (wa'ter-wing), n. A wall erected 
on the bank of a river adjoining a bridge, to 
secure the foundations from the action of the 
current. 
waterwitch (wa'ter-wich), n. 1. A witch who 
dwells in the water; a water-uixy. — 2. A per- 
son who pretends to have the power of dis- 
covering subterranean springs by means of a 
divining-rod. Bartlett, Americanisms, p. 741. 
— 3. One of several water-birds noted for their 
quickness in diWng. as a kind of duck, the buf- 
fle-lieaded duck, Clnngiila or Biicephala albeola, 
and especially various species of grebes or 
didappers, as the horned grebe, Podicijyes comu- 
